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BEEHIVE BUILDING COMPLEX
Other NameFORMER MINING EXCHANGE BENDIGO Location306-314 HARGREAVES STREET AND 18-26 PALL MALL AND 2-11 ALLANS WALK AND 1-5 BEEHIVE PLAZA BENDIGO, GREATER BENDIGO CITY
File Number11/010663LevelRegistered |
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Statement of Significance
The Beehive Building and site, including the former Bendigo Mining
Exchange (and what is now Allan's Walk) was built to the design of the
noted architect Charles Webb. The Beehive building and the former Bendigo mining exchange is
important for its association with early Bendigo, and for its
association of retail commerce and mining speculation. The former Bendigo mining exchange (including Allan's Walk) was one
of only two regional Victorian mining exchanges, and is important for
its association with gold mining in the Bendigo district, one of
Victoria's greatest gold mining centres in the nineteenth century. The Beehive building and the former mining exchange are important
examples of the work of the noted architect Charles Webb. The complex is also an important component of the Pall Mall
streetscape, one of the most notable Victorian period streetscapes in
the State.
The original Beehive Store dated from the 1850's. This was
followed by a single-storey building reaching from Pall Mall to
Hargreaves Street. In 1864 a two-storey building having similarity to
the present structure was erected. On its first floor were the offices
of share-brokers that by this stage and become an essential part of
the speculative financing of mining ventures in the Bendigo district.
In August 1871 at a time of hectic share trading the Beehive caught
fire with extensive damage caused to the building. Within nine months
the present building had been erected. Accommodation for the brokers
was provided in the new building on the floor above what is now
Allan's walk. Share trading occurred in the open space below and even
spilled out into the street at times of intense activity. The whole
formed a stylish arcade-like structure with an opening in the first
floor to the skylight above. The twentieth century Allan's Walk
partitioning has obscured the original Victorian period detailing
(including columns) which was originally in keeping in with the
Victorian period character of the first floor. The front elevation
consists of a restrained classical facade with the beehive image a
feature of a centrally located parapet.
Group
Finance
Category
Commodity/ Stock Exchange